Roller skate



Feb. 21, 1939.

J. R. WREN ET AL 2,148,418

ROLLER SKATE Filed Dec. 22, 1957 56 INVENTOR JOSEPH R Ween JOHN BARTHO 292:8 m2 QEY.

Patented Feb. 21 1939 UNITED STATES 2,148,418 PATENT OFFICE ROLLER SKATE New York Application December 22, 1937, Serial No. 181,083

11 Claims.

This invention relates generally to roller skates and more particularly to brakes therefor.

It is a primary object of our invention to provide braking mechanism for roller skates that will fit any standard type of roller skate.

It is another object to provide braking mechanism that is adjustable. I

It is another object to provide braking mechanism that is readily mounted on the ordinary type of roller skate.

Still another object is to provide braking mechanism that is readily assembled and disassembled.

A further object is to provide'a braking mechanism with a braking shoe that is provided with a plurality of braking surfaces and is invertible.

Another object is to provide such a braking device that is characterized by fewness of parts.

Yet another object is to provide a braking mechanism that is simple and rugged in construction and economical to manufacture. v

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the description thereof to follow taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a roller skate embodying one form of the improved braking mechanism, one of the rear wheels being removed.

Figure 2 is a rear view thereof.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of parts of the braking mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a side view of the rear part of a roller skate with one of the wheels removed showing another form of improved braking mechanism. a

Figure 5 is a rear view of the skate shown in Fig. 4 with some of the parts shown in section for clearness.

Figure 6 is a side view of the brake shoe shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 7 is a side view of the brake shoe shown in Fig. 4.

The improved braking mechanism or unit is formed of metal and is shown as mounted on an ordinary type of roller skate l having a foot supporting member I l and front and rear wheels l2 and I3, respectively. The mounting for the rear wheels I3 is the usual construction consisting of a bracket I4 depending from the under surface of the foot support II. A bearing member l for a rear axle I6 is fastened to the lower end of the bracket [4. Supported between the bracket l4 and the bearing member is a block I! of rubber for cushioning shocks. The rear wheels are mounted on the ends of the axle l6 and. are held fast thereon by nuts (not shown) similar to the nuts I8 on the front wheel axle.

The improved braking mechanism includes the following instrumentalities which are duplicated ateach side of the frame adjacent each rear wheel:

An elongated plate or arm is mounted on the rear axle l6 and has an offset portion 2| at one end. An integral flange 22 is formed on the upper edge of the plate and an integral flange 23 at the lower edge. These'flanges are joined by a vertical flange 24 at the free edge of the offset portion 2|. A rib l9 may be formed in the plate for strengthening the same. An opening 25 is provided at the lower rear edge of the plate It for mounting same on the rear axle. The upper flange 22 of the plate I8 is formed with a slot 26'and the same flange at the offset portion is formed with an opening 21. The lower flange 23 is also provided with an opening'28 opposite the opening 21 in the upper flange. A brake shoe 29 is mounted on the offset portion 2|. This brake shoe consists of a vertical body portion 3|] with an inwardly extending horizontal flange 3| at its upper and a slightly curved horizontally disposed tread portion 32 at its lower end. The vertical body portion is outstruck at its lower end to form an inwardly extending ledge or flange 33, which ledge has an opening 34 in line with an opening 35 in the upper flange 3|. A cotter pin 36 passing through the aligned openings 35, 21, 28 and 34 has its shanks spread apart to fasten the shoe 29 to the offset portion.

A narrow bar or plate 3'! is supported flat on the undersurface of the upper flange 22 of the plate 20 and is provided with a slot 38 disposed centrally thereof and with a nose or vertically disposed lug 39 at one end. When in position on the flange 22 the slot 38 of the bar 31 registers with the slot 26 in the flange and the nose portion 39 extends beyond the end of the flange 22. A screw 40 and nut 4| fastens the bar 31 to the flange 22. The screw is provided with an integral washer 42 to provide a smooth turning surface and with a square shaped head 43 for cooperation with a square shaped socket of a roller skate key.

The duplicated braking instrumentalities just described may be joined to form a' rigid unit. This is accomplished bymeans of a bar 44 having slotted ends 45 to accommodate different size rear axle bearing members and associated parts. The bar 44 is positioned across the space between the flanges 22 with the slotted ends above the slots 26 and around the shanks of the screws 40 so that the bar will be made fast to the braking mechanism.

In assembling or mounting the braking mechanism, when mounting the duplicated braking device as a unit, the unit is positioned behind the housing and axle bearing so that the plates or arms 20 are positioned on the sides of said axle bearing with the openings 25 in the plates 20 in register with the opening in the axle bearing l5. The rear axle I6 is then inserted through the said aligned openings, and the rear wheels l3 are mounted on the ends of said axle and fastened thereon by nuts (not shown). By tightening up on these nuts, the plates 20 are clamped between the sides of the axle bearing and the hubs of the wheels I3 thus preventing movement or displacement of said plates 20. These plates 20 are fixedly positioned so that the tread portions 32 of the brake shoe 29 are slightly above the lowermost surface of the rear wheels I3 and correspondingly off the supporting surface for the skate. Each of the bars 31 is then adjusted by sliding along its flange 22 so that its nose portion 39 abuts against the rear portion of the axle bearing 15, and is then fastened in adjusted position by the screw 40 and nut 4|.

The braking mechanism is now in position for use. If the skater desires to retard or stop the movement of the skate all that it is necessary to do is to tilt the front portion of the skate upwardly and its rear portion downwardly as shown in Figure 1 in dotted lines until the tread portion 32 of the brake shoe engages the surface and the friction of the tread portion on the surface will provide the necessary braking action.

It will be understood that the connecting bar 44 may be omitted if desired.

In Figures 4 and 5, another form of the invention is illustrated. In this form, plates or arms 46 substantially similar to the plates or arms 20 are mounted on the rear axle l6 of the rear wheels, Each plate 46 has an offset portion 41 with upper and lower flanges 48 and 49 similar to the offset portion 2| and flanges 22 and 23, respectively, of the form shown in Figure 1. These arms however are provided with a plurality of holes 5| disposed on different vertical planes for receiving a rod 52 extending between the arms 46 as shown in Figure 5. This rod 52 may be suitably secured in the openings 5|.

A brake shoe 53 is mounted on each offset portion 41, and said shoe comprises a vertical body portion 54 having an upper slightly curved and horizontally disposed tread portion 55 and a similar lower tread portion 56. The body portion is also provided with an outstruck ledge 51 adjacent the upper tread portion 55 and another similar ledge 58 adjacent the lower tread portion 56. The ledges 51 and 58 are provided with aligned openings 59 and 60, respectively.

The brake shoe 53 is fastened to the offset portion 41 by means of a spring wire or clip 6| passing through the openings in the ledges 51 and 58 and openings in the flanges 48 and 49 of the offset portion 41. The free ends of the wire clips 61 may be turned for fastening if desired.

By reason of this construction, the braking mechanism can be fitted to axle bearings of skates of varying widths and lengths by inserting the rod 52 in the proper openings 5| so that said rod impinges against the rear of the axle housing [5. The plates 46 may be connected by the slotted bar 44 to make a rigid unit.

The brake shoe 53 is formed with the upper and lower tread portions 55 and 56, respectively, so that when one tread portion is worn, the shoe may be inverted and the other tread portion placed in position for wear.

It will be understood that when using the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, the braking mechanism can be used on skates having different widths and lengths of rear wheel mountings. The braking mechanism can be adjusted laterally by reason of the bar 44 to permit the arms 20 to straddle the axle bearings of varying widths and the bars 31 can be adjusted back and forth to adjust themselves to mountings of varying lengths. The bars 31 take up the weight and strain when the braking unit is in use and prevent movement of the braking unit on the axle. The rods 52 by engagement with the rear of the axle bearing I5 perform the same function in the form shown in Figure 4.

We claim:

1. A roller skate having a frame, an axle supported thereby, wheels on said axle, and braking mechanism supported by said axle, said mechanism including an arm detachably supported on the axle, a brake shoe supported by said arm and an abutment member cooperating with said arm and frame for adjusting the braking mechanism laterally and longitudinally of the frame.

2. A roller skate having a frame, an axle supported thereby, wheels on said axle, and braking mechanism supported by said axle, said mechanism including an arm detachably supported on the axle, a brake shoe detachably mounted on the arm and an abutment member slidably supported by said arm and being adapted to engage the frame for adjusting the braking mechanism to frames of varying lengths.

3. A roller skate having a frame, an axle supported thereby, wheels on said axle, and braking mechanism supported by said axle, said mechanism including an arm on said axle at each side of the frame, a brake shoe supported by each arm rearwardly of the wheel and adjacent thereto and an abutment member slidably supported by each arm and being adapted to engage the frame for adjusting the braking mechanism to frames of varying lengths.

4. A roller skate having a frame, an axle supported thereby, wheels on said axle, and braking mechanism supported by said axle, said mechanism including an arm on said axle at each side of the frame, a brake shoe supported by each arm rearwardly and adjacent the wheel, an abutment member slidably supported by each arm and being adapted to engage the frame for adjusting the braking mechanism to frames of varying lengths, and a plate connecting said arms, said plate being provided with slots for adjustment to frames of varying widths.

5. In a roller skate, the combination with the rear wheels, axle therefor and bearing for said axle, of a braking unit comprising a plate on the axle clamped between each wheel and the side of the axle bearing, an offset portion formed on each plate and disposed behind and adjacent its wheel, a brake shoe supported by each offset portion, a slidable bar adapted to abut against the rear of the axle bearing to transmit the strain to the brake shoe and to prevent movement of the plate on the axle and a bar connecting the plates and being slotted for lateral adjustment.

6. In a roller skate, the combination with the rear wheels, axle therefor and bearing for said axle, of a braking unit comprising a plate on the axle clamped between each wheel and the side of the axle bearing, said plate having a plurality of openings disposed on different vertical planes, an offset portion formed on each arm and disposed behind the adjacent wheel, a brake shoe supported by each offset portion and a bar connecting said plates and disposed in a pair of openings in the plates disposed on the same vertical plane for engagement with the rear of the axle bearing.

I 7. As an article of manufacture, a braking unit for a roller skate comprising a plate having an opening therein, an offset portion formed at one end of said plate, a brake shoe supported by said offset portion and an abutment member slidably supported by the plate.

8. As an article of manufacture, a braking unit for a roller skate comprising a plate having an opening therein, an offset portion formed at one end of said plate, a flange formed on the upper edge of said plate, a brake shoe supported by said offset portion and an abutment member slidably supported by said flange.

9. As an article of manufacture, a braking unit for a roller skate comprising a plate having an opening therein, an offset portion formed at one end of the plate and extending laterally of the plane of the body of the plate, a flange formed on the upper edge of the plate and extending laterally in a direction opposite to the offset portion, a brake shoe supported by said offset portion and an abutment member slidably supported by the flange.

10. As an article of manufacture, a braking unit for a roller skate comprising a pair of spaced plates each provided with an opening, an offset portion formed on the end of each plate and projecting outwardly of the plane of the body of the plate, a brake shoe supported by each ofiset portion, an abutment member adjustably supported on the upper edge of each plate and a bar adjustably supported across the upper edges of the plates.

11. As an article of manufacture, a braking unit for a roller skate comprising a plate having an opening therein, an offset portion formed at one end of the plate, and extending laterally of the plane of the body of the plate, a flange formed on the upper edge of the plate and extending laterally in a direction opposite to the offset portion, a brake shoe supported by said offset portion, a bar slidably supported by said flange and an enlargement formed on one end of the bar.

JOSEPH R. WREN. JOHN BARTHO. 

